


Not Even the Stars

by thethirteenth



Category: Doctor Who
Genre: Doctor Who Feels, F/F, F/M, Female Doctor (Doctor Who), Interrogation, Psychological Torture, Rescue Missions, Torture
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-11-14
Updated: 2018-11-17
Packaged: 2019-08-23 17:11:18
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,208
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16623014
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thethirteenth/pseuds/thethirteenth
Summary: The Doctor has been captured by the Master, who seeks information on the whereabouts of a weapon of awesome power. Her friends, old and new, will cross the universe to save her.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Idk I think I just wanted to see Thirteen go head to head with the Master (John Simm) and get rescued by River and all her companions. And yes, I know the concept of the "weapon" is super vague. Just let me marinate in my rescue fantasy. Anyway, enjoy!

**The Doctor**

The stars had never felt so far away. The Doctor could see them ― just a sliver of them ― through the narrow window above her. Everything else was lost to darkness. She couldn't move, couldn't speak, couldn't breathe, her body suspended in time and space. Her twin hearts locked between beats. The restraints were quite unnecessary, she thought, but the Master had always had a flare for the dramatics. Then again, so had she.

The door beyond her head burst open, spilling cold light over her prostate form. A snap of fingers and her body screamed to life. She sucked in a rattling breath as the door slammed.

"Doctor, you're looking well."

The Master appeared, gazing down at her strapped to the table. He searched her face with deceptively calm eyes.

"Your new form suits you, but you won't have it much longer if you keep this up."

"Threats won't get you anywhere, my friend," the Doctor replied.

The Master smiled like a loaded gun. "Perhaps not, but I know what will." He reached into his pocket and withdrew a shiny black pod the size of a pea. The Doctor tensed, fighting the urge to squirm. "You know what this is, I take it?"

"Telepathic parasite, courtesy of the psychopaths on Skaro. Outlawed in every civilized corner of the universe."

"You never could resist the urge to show off that big brain of yours, could you, Doctor?"

"Some things never change," she replied through her teeth. "You can't get me to talk by showing me visions. You know that."

"That's what they all say." The Master tossed the little parasite into the air and caught it, examining it with dark fascination. "You will tell me where the weapon is, whether you want to or not." This time, the Doctor could not smother a flinch as the Master lowered the parasite to her ear. It whirred to life, yearning to nest in her mind. "Last chance, Doctor."

The Doctor sucked in a shuddering breath, then set her jaw. "Go to hell."

"You will." The Master pressed the parasite to her ear.

The Doctor screamed. Not even the stars heard her.

**River**

The TARDIS had redecorated. River found it strange that she was seeing its new face before that of the Doctor. It was warm. Eclectic. Ancient and youthful at once. It was...

"River." 

The voice broke her from her thoughts. River turned around. The three humans stood in a knot near the console, staring at her with quiet fascination. Yaz, Ryan, and Graham. Utterly ordinary, but the Doctor never saw it that way. He ― _she ―_ always saw the best in people, even and especially when they could not see it themselves. The Doctor even saw the best in her. 

The girl, Yaz, spoke up again. "Um, River?" 

"You said you had her sonic," River said, adopting a businesslike manner. She held out her hand. "Give it to me." 

Yaz dug into her jacket pocket and withdrew a silver sonic capped with a crystal. River took it in hand, examining it with a distant smile. It was clumsily made, but every inch a masterpiece. 

River had been on Mars hunting down a rogue Atraxi when she heard it. The call of the TARDIS halfway across the universe. A cry for help. When she answered it, she arrived at the ship to find the Doctor gone. Her new companions said the Master had taken her, but they did not know why. 

"We can use this to track her," River said, striding over to the console and plugging the sonic into a socket. It flared orange, whirring like a cicada. The TARDIS let out a wheeze as if in reply. "Are any of you armed?" River asked, her fingers flying over the console as she brought it to life. 

"No," Ryan said. "The Doctor doesn't like guns." 

River rolled her eyes. "Some things never change. Here." She reached into her coat and whipped out her gun ― one of two she currently carried. Without looking up from the console, she held it out for Ryan to take. He accepted it with a grin. "She'll be cross with me, but it's more fun that way." 

She pulled the leaver, and a shuddering groan ripped through the TARDIS. Time and space warped around them as the plunged through the universe, following some unknowable path to her wife. River gripped the edge of the console with both hands, a grim smile spreading across her mouth. Not even the stars could keep them apart.  

 


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you guys so much for the support! So glad you liked the first chapter. Little bit about me: I'm actually a full time YA author, but I've been getting back into anonymous fanfic lately in my spare time. There's something so freeing about writing without attaching my name to something. Anyway, thanks for reading and leaving such sweet notes! I'll try to update this fic roughly once a week, but I'm currently on deadline for my next book AND in the middle of my last semester at uni, so it might be a bit spotty sometimes. Enjoy this (short) chapter! And lemme know what you think in the comments. 
> 
> Also, we're jacking the rating up to MATURE. Just FYI.

**The Doctor**

_Darkness. So thick it had a physical presence. Then, a world on fire. Her world on fire. Gallifrey, incinerated at her will. Billions of lives snuffed like a wick between fingers. The maw of guilt that followed. It would destroy her. It would..._

Doctor. 

_The Doctor blinked. She now stood on an endless white plane. And before her, dressed in blue, was..._

Rose. 

_She spoke the name, but it died on her tongue. Rose Tyler. Defender of the Earth. The Bad Wolf. Mascara was clotted under her brown eyes. The Doctor started toward her. Then, Rose collapsed. The Doctor watched in horror as the golden Time Vortex swelled around her. Rose looked up, violent light pouring from her eyes._

You did this, Doctor _, she said._ You did this. 

_The Doctor reached out to embrace her, to steal the Vortex back. Then a force was gripping her by the neck, dragging her down, down, down..._

She crashed back into her bones, bucking against the cuffs at her wrists and ankles, the collapsing back onto the table. Cold sweat coated her skin. Every fiber of her body was stitched with agony. The telepathic parasite pulsed in her head, a counter beat to her own hearts. 

"Rose Tyler. Fascinating. I would've thought you'd forgotten her by now." 

The Doctor shifted to glare at the Master, who lurked a few paces away. "I never forget them." It was meant to sound defiant, but her voice was as weak as her body. "Never." 

"Part of what makes you so vulnerable to the parasite, I imagine." The Master prowled forward to stand over her. His lips curled into a smirk. "There is just so much to work with." The Doctor tensed as he reached down to trace the curve of her jaw with a single knuckle. His wild eyes pinned her down, stronger than any restraints. "How much longer are we going to play this game, Doctor?" 

"I can't get into a measuring contest anymore, not unless we're talking lifespans. In which case, mine is considerably longer." 

"All the more time for me to get an answer out of you." 

"I ― "

His hand was around her throat faster than she could track. The Master leaned in close, his breath caressing her face. "It doesn't matter how many regenerations you have, Doctor," he murmured. "The fact of the matter is, you're more vulnerable than you've ever been. You have everything to lose." 

"And everything to fight for." 

The Master ignored her. "This new body of yours. I must admit, I find it pleasing." The Doctor tensed as his thumb brushed her lips. "I suppose, if the parasite proves ineffective, we could explore other routes to your cooperation." 


End file.
